Counting mechanism for printed products



' 3E. P. sHELDoN COUNTING MECHANISM FOR PRINTEDPRODUCTS July 13 1926.

Filed No. 8,A 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN'roR Patented July 13,V 1926.

EDW'ARD QSHELDGN, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., .ASSIG-NOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO .BVI-EOE AND CO., INC., OF NEVI YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION GF NEW YORK.

COUNTING MECHANISLJI FOR FRNTED PRODUCTS.

Application filed November 28, 1922. Serial No.

This invention relates to certain improvements in counting vmechanisms for printed products. f

In the production of printed products, such for instance, as printed blanks, thin sheets and various other products, itis desirable that these thin products be counted,V

` sheets yor once-folded thin sheets, difficulty has been experienced in manipulating the sheets to effect their counting. The manipulating mechanisms usually employed for thispurpose .comprise ydevices whereby a certainproduct is engaged by a kicker or lifter mechanism` by which the sheet is raised, so as to project beyond products as# sembled on either Yside thereof. In dealing with folded products such'as newspaper-s,

assembled sig-natures, and other heavy products, these mechanisms operate satisfactorily. In dealing with 'light products, however, as single or 'thin folded sheets, a kicker mechanism very often causes a buckling of the sheet with the result that the sheet instead of being raised to its proper position buckles and no count is effected. Furthermore, this is apt to cause damage to the sheets.

It is the especial object ofthe present invention to provide a simple and effective mechanism for displacing a thin product so that it Will project beyond products assembled on either side thereof in which this tendency to buckle is overcome and in which the sheet is properly positioned to eect its counting functionand is not liable to be damaged, whereby such products may be counted in multiple unit-s, each unit having a predetermined number of products so that thelunits may be readily separatedeither at thetime of the delivery or at anyy subsequent time, without the necessity of a recount.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a construction by means of which, with a veryv slight change inthe mechanism, the number of products inl a unit may be `varied within considerable limits, the operating mechanism otherwise remaining unchanged so that a Wide range of counted products may be effected with the same counting mechanism. A

Vith these and other objects not specifically referred to, the invention consists in certain novel parts, arrangements and combinations, which will be fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings and the novel features thereof pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed.

Referring now to these drawings-*- Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of so much of a counting mechanism embodying the invention, as is necessary for an understanding thereof, the Ymechanism shown being capacitated to count multiple units eac-h having predetermined number of products.

Figure 2 is a plan View, partlyin section counted by the construction illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the invention vhas been illustrated as employed at the delivery end of a printing machine, the printing elements of which have not been illus- .trated as unnecessary to an understanding of the invention, andthe particular product to be counted has been illustrated as a collected product of two thin sheets. It will be understood, however, that the invention is capable of use in other relations, and particularly with products that have not been collected.

Y In the particular construction illustrated, the various operative parts of the machine are supported in side frames 3 rising from a base 2. The product, indicated by the letter l?, is a collected product,'this product being collected by suitable collecting mecha* nism, not illustrated. This product may be forwarded to the counting and delivery lmechanism in various ways, but in the par;

ticular construction illustrated, it is for-y warded by a pair of forwarding rolls l,

which forwarding rolls. in the particular construction illustrated, co-operate with a pair ot guides et by which the product s guided to the counting and delivery mechanisin.

lVhile the particular delivery mechanism may be iaried. that illustrated is a stacker delivery in which the products are delivered vertically. ln the particular construction illustrated, this stacker delivery includes a receivingr box 5. which is provided at its sides with side channels (3, which receive the side edges et the products so as to properly position them in the box.

As the products are delivered to the box they are counted in what may be termed mnltipie units. that is. in units each havingf a number ot products, this number being' any desired predetermined number. in inachines constructed in 'accordance with the invention. these multiple units are `formed by providing' certain indicating' means ar'- rancied between the units so as to divide the units up. In the particular' construction illustrated. this is etl'ected by causingv one or more or' the products to hc displaced relatively to the others. so as to stand above the others and thus all'ord a simple and easy means for separating' the products into units or bunches having' the desired nun'iber in each bunch or unit. .Vhile the particular means tor etleeting` this may be varied` in the particular machine illustrated. these raised products narlred P are displaced relatively to the remaining product by means ot an intermittently operating stop by which the spacing` product l is prevented from beingforwarded as :tar as the other products and is thus elevated above the rest ot' the products at the sides thcreo't, and the products thus separated into units or bunches.

Vhile various means may be provided for e llectinp; this` in the particular construction illustrated. the receiver boX 5 is provided with openings T at each side. in which may be operated a pair of stops in the 'lorm ol lingers S, these fingers operatingl betvveen the side guiding channels (i. betere referred to. rlhc openings i' are, tin'thermore. termed to permit the operation ot certain pushing' or stacking' devices il. hcreinat'ter re'lerred to. These pushers have a slidingmovement in the box working` inside the litter fingers S.

These stop iingers are operated intermittently so as to stop one or more ot the spacing' products after the desired predetermined number ot products have been delivered into the box and stacked. The specilic mechanism for etlecting` this may. oi course, be somewhat varied. but a, simple and rl'- ieient one is that illustrated and which may bc described as tollovvs:

ln this mechanism. the stop tlngers are Carried on arms 8 fast on a transverse roel:

shaft l0 suitably journalled in the side trames 3. lictore referred to. This shaft l() is intermittently operated through a lever ll loosely mounted on the shaft. To this lever ll is secured one end ot a cam rod l2, the other end ot this rod being lorled, as indicated at 13. this tori; taking over a crossshatt le. rlhis rod l2 carries a roll l5 which works in the groove of a cam lb also carried by the shaft li. This shaft lei. carries a lever 1T connected to the end ot an operatingr rod 18 vvhich is actuated in any suitable manner, not shoivn, so that the speed ot' the shaft l is properly proportioned to the speed at vvhich the products are forwarded by the tm'uarding rolls l. The operating' connections from the lever l1 to the shaft lt) jlor actuating' the latter include a svrincl lil secured at one end to the lever. and at its tree ent bearing against one arm 19 ot a pawl 20. secured to the top of the lever ll. betere reterred to.

Securedl on the shat't l0 and adjacent to the lever ll is a second lever 2l. this lever 2l being' provided vvith one pavvl tace. indicated bj.' the numeral and a second paul tace indicated by the numeral 23. one arm ot this lever beingv secured to u spring rod construction 2st.

rl"liis lever l is tast ou the sha'l't, and as the lever 2l moved the shaft lO is rocked. Connections are provided ,i'or rocking' the shaft after any predetermined munber of products have been stacked into a unit or bunch, and in the best constructions these means vvill be such that by adding' an additional ratchet to the controlling mechanism the number ol products in a bunch may be ivide y varied.

tcterringg` i'irst to Figures l to 3. there is' irovided a ratchet wheel 5 provided with ratchet teeth Ztl. this ratchet win-el beineV loosely mounted on the sha'lt l0 and adjacent te the lever il. This ratchet yvhcci is provided in addition to the usual teeth 2t;

'ith a deep tooth 2T into which the. operating' end olt the pawl 2t) may be dropped after the ratchet has made a complete revolution. The hub oit' the ratchet wheel carries a cam 2S which extends into the path oi a pin Q9 secured to a pavvl 30, this paul being supported on a stud ill and held in position by a collar 532. all as best shown in Fig. 3. The stud 3l is supported in any suitable manner. as by being` secured at one end in a bracket suitably secured to the side 'trames il, betere referred to. and this bracket also acts as a support tor a spring .54; which normally tends` to hold the paivl 3f) in a position to engage the paul tace ot the level' 2l.

'lhe ratchet ivheel 25 is prevented trom rotating in the opposite direction by means t a locking pavvl Il?) pivoted at 3G in one ot' the side trames ot the machinej before referred to, and having` a locking nose 37, this lio Ymade a completeV revolution. y revolution of the ratchet the deep `tooth 27 pawl being normally held imposition to engage the teeth 26 of the ratchet wheel by a spring 38.

In the operation ofthe parts as so far described, thev rod l2, actuated by the cani 16, oscillates the lever l1 and causes the operating end of the pawl 2O to engage the teeth 26 of the ratchet 25 thus advancing thev ratchet step. by stepV until the ratchet has After one comes in register with the operating end of i the pawl 20 and the pawl 20 drops into this deep'tooth. When theV parts are in this posi- Y tion, the operating end of the paw-l 20 is thus permitted to engage with the pawl face 22 on the operating lever 2i. rlhe next moveinentwof the parts causes the pawl to rock the lever 2l to the right, as shown lin Fig. l, thereby causing the rocking of theshaft l andthe elevation offthe stopfingers 8, these fingers being moved into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l. `This movement of the lever`2l causes'the pawl face 23 to be Ymoved toward Vthe left in'Fig. l,

l'whereupon the pawl 30 Yis forced by the spring B4 into engagement with the pawl ,face'23 so that the lever 2l is prevented from rocking toward the right and the lifter iingers 8 are heldin raised positionfor one ,stroke of the lever 4l1. rPhe following stroke vof the lever l1, however, moves the ratchet wheel so that the cam 28 strikes the pin 29 freeing the pawl 30 from the pawl face 23 kof the lever 2l, thereby causing the" lever 2i to swing to the right through the spring 24, thus rocking the shaft 10 in the reverse direction and lowering the stop lingers 8, as shown in full lines in Fig. l. After the lever 2l has thus kreturnedto its initial positionit remains in this position until the ratchet wheel has made another complete revolution under the action of the pawl 20.

f l/Jith this construction, therefore, a spacing product P is prevented from dropping to thefbottom of the vbox 5, and ay predetermined nuinber of'products' is permitted to accumulate in the box until another spacing product P is forced up aftera revolution of the ratchet wheel, the products P being held in raised position by the closeness of their fit between the sides of the box and the ressure of the following roducts )aching against them. Thus the spacing product is not subjected to a pushing or lifting action and any buckling of the product is prevented. The product is, therefore, always in position to effect'itsrcounting function, and the product is not, Ycrumpled or otherwise damaged.

ln some instances it maybe desirable to space off or count bunches yhaving morev products than would be 'possible with the single ratchet wheel and connections described. lt is desirable however that the connections so far described may be utilized in the counting of such larger bunches of products and means are provided by the present invention whereby by the addition of another ratchet an increase in the number of products in a unit or bunch may be permitted without in any way affecting the operation or" the mechanism thus far described,

and one such construction isv illustrated in F ig. 4. y

in the particular mechanism illustrated ink this figure the ratchet wheel 25 is provided with the usual :teeth 26 and the deep tooth- 27. Loosely mounted on theshaft and closely adjacent the ratchet wheel is aV second ratchet wheel 40, this ratchet wheel being provided with the usual ratchet teeth 4l, and in the particular construction shown two deep teeth 42, 43, though it will bre-understood, of course that one or more deep teeth 42 may be provided depending on the numsui'iicieiit distance to reach the pawl face 22`r on the lever 2l. In the particular construction shown, therefore, in this Fig.- 4the ratchet wheel 25 will make a complete revolution for one tooth of the ratchet 40, and it will not be until the ratchet 42O has made this revolution that one of the deep teeth 42, 43 of the ratchet 40 will register with the deep tooth 27 of the ratchet 25, and at the saine time with the ratchet operating.

face 22 of the lever 2l. rlhis results in that the lever 2l is only rocked on every six revolutions of the ratchet 25 and thus a number of products siX times as great are stacked or bunclied before ,the stop fingers raise a delivery product to the indicating position. it will, of course, be understood that ifthe deep tooth 43 be omitted from the ratchet 40 that twice as many products will be accumulated before the spacing lingers oper-` riilhus a simple and effective multiply-'j ate. ing device is provided. 1

As before stated, in the particular construction illustrated, tlie products are arranged in bunches or stacks by the pusher fingers 9, before referred to, these pusher fingers 9 reciprocating bach and forth in the box 5 and stacking the products oneach side of the box. These pusher fingers may be operated in any suitable manner. ln the particular construction illustrated the pushiis Y er fingers are journalled at a6 in slides 4T which work in guides lt8 suitably secured in a standard 49 rising from the base 2, before referred to. These slides are operated in the particular construction illustrated by means of an operating" rod 50, this rod being secured at its outer end to the lever l fast on the operating' shaft il, before referred to. The products are or may be stacked against suitable abutinents, snch as follower frames 52 which slide in `guides 53 in the bottom of the box 5, before referred to, these follower frames retreating` as the products are accumulated against them by the pusher fingers.

lVith the construction shown and described, a very simple and efficient mechanism has been provided for counting products in multiple units or bunches of predetermined number of products each and a very simple and eilicient spacing means for effecting' this has been provided. lWhile the mechanism shown and described is an effe cientl one for the purpose, it will, of course, be understood that the specific arrangement of the parts may be varied without departing from the invention.

That I claim is:

1. The combination of means for forwarding thin products vertically, a receiver to which the products a"e forwart ed, means for preventingcertain of the products from being' forwarded as far as other products as the products are received in the receiver to cause such stopped products to project beyond the others and separate the products into units or bunches each having` a predelei-mined number, and means for assembling the products in a stack by a right line movement.

Q. The combination of means for forwarding thin products vertically, a receiver to which the products are forwarded, stop means normally below the bottom of the receiver, means for elevating` the stop means for stopping' certain of the products from being forwarded as far as other products as the products pass into the receiver to cause such stopped products tol project beyond the others and separate the products into units or bunches each having a predetermined number, and means for assembling` the products in a stack with a right line movement.

3. The combination of means for forwarding thin products vertically, a receiver to which the products are forwarded, stop means normally below the bottom of the receiver, means for elevating the stop means for stopping certain of the products from being forwarded as far as other products a the products pass into the receiver to cause such stopped products to projectbeyond the others and separate the products into units or bunches each having a predetermined number, means for assembling the products in a stack with a right line movement, and means whereby the number of products assembled in the receiver may be increased between the operations of the product stopping mechanism.

4f. The combination of means for forwardingr products,ofa packer box into which the products are delivered vertically, mechanism in the box for stopping the product from reaching' the bottom thereof so as to elevate certain products relativelyv to the others, means for operating the product elevating mechanism after a predetermined number ot products have been delivered to the box, and means whereby the number of products assembled in the box may be increased between the operations of the product elevating mechanism.

5. The combination of means for forwarding products, of a packer box into which the products are delivered vertically, mechanism in the box for stopping:y certain of the product-s from reaching the bottom thereof so as to elevate such products relatively' to the others, and a pawl and ratchet for intermittently operating the mechanism.

G. The combination of means for forwarding products, of a packer box into which the products are delivered vertically, mechanism in the box for stopping certain of the products from reachingy the bottom thereof so as to elevate such products relatively to the others, and slides in the box operating to assemble the products in stacks with a right line movement.

7. The combination of means for forwarding products vertically, a packer box into which the products are delivered, stops in the box, a rock shaft on which the stops are mounted, a pawl, a ratchet operated thereby, anda second ratchet having a different number of teeth operated b v the pawl.

S. The combination of means for forwarding` products vertically, a packer box into which the products are delivered, stops in the box, a rock shaft on which the stops are mounted, a pawl loose on the shaft, a ratchet loose on the shaft, and a lever fast on the shaft and actuated by the pawl after a predetermined movement of the ratchet.

9. The combination of means for forwarding products, a packer box into which the products are delivered, stops in the box, a rock shaft on which the stops are mounted, a pawl loose on the shaft, a ratchet loose on the shaft, a lever fast on the shaft and actuated by the pawl to rock the shaft after a predetermined movement of the ratchet, a pawl acting to hold the lever momentarily in rocked position, and means for freeing the pawl.

10. The combination of means for forwarding products vertically, a packer box into which the products are delivered, stops in the box, a rock shaft on which the stops are mounted, a pawl loose onthe shaft, a ratchet loose on the shaft having a deep tooth, and a lever fast on the shaft having an operating face engaged by the pawl when the pawl enters the deep tooth of the ratchet.

11. The'combination of means for for,-

A warding products vertically, a packer box into which the products are delivered, stops in the box, a rock shaft on which the stops are mounted, a pawl loose on the shaft, a ratchet loose on the shaft having a deep tooth, a lever fast on the shaft and having an Voperating face engaged by the pawl when the pawl enters the deep tooth of the ratchet to rock the shaft, and means for momentarily holding the lever in rocked position.

12. The combination of means for forwarding thin products vertically, means for 13. The combination of means for forwarding products, a packer box into which the products are delivered vertically, guides on the sides of the box for holding a prod? uct, means for stopping certain of the products, and pushers Working inside the guides for assembling the products in a stack.

14. The combination of means for forwarding products, a packer box into which the products are delivered vertically, guides yon the sides of the box for holding a product, pivoted stop fingers arranged in the product path, means for `operating the fingers to stop certain products, and pushers working inside the guides for assembling the products in a stack.

15. The combination of means for forwarding products, stop, means for moving the stop into the product path to stop the product, said means including a pawl and ratchet, a power shaft, connection from the shaft for operating the pawl and ratchet, pushers for stacking the products in a stack, and connections from the shaft for operating the pushers.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

EDWARD P. SHELDON. 

